Shades of Gray
by xandromedax
Summary: A mysterious gray eyed boy gets on Lily's nerves from the first time she sees him. Now that they are at Hogwarts together, will they get along? They come from rival families after all. What will happen? Companion story to "Pictures of Lily"
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own any character of Harry Potter except for the mystery boy.

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_Prologue_

The first time I saw him, I was with my family in King's Cross.

James was heading off for his second year in Hogwarts, Al going away for his first year. I had been tearfully watching them say their goodbyes to Mum and Dad as I desperately wished that I were going to Hogwarts too. I clung to Dad's hand, not noticing all the attention we were getting from other people on the platform, but at nine, I could only focus on how I would all alone during the coming year and would only be able to catch tantalizing glimpses of Hogwarts through the letters my brothers would write. I was dimly aware of Uncle Ron and my parents talking about Hogwarts houses and teasing Al and my cousin Rose about which houses they would be sorted in when I hastily turned away from them to wipe my tears without anyone noticing.

I was Lily Luna Potter, and I did _not_ cry over something as little as being left at home and having to wait for _two_ _whole_ _years _before going away on the scarlet train in front of me. I swiped my hand over my eyes, blinked furiously and then my gaze collided with someone else's. His cold gray eyes bored into mine, and I wondered if he had been watching me all this time, and had seen my tears. I felt my face flush bright red to match my hair but I stood my ground and glared back. We held the silent staring contest for several minutes, and I considered sticking my middle finger up at him, a muggle thing James had taught me to do and told me to use it on people I didn't like. Before I could try this out on him, a large hand descended on his shoulder and he broke his gaze and turned away, disappearing into the white mist that surrounded the platform.

I blinked, surprised, and then noticed that the train was moving away. I saw my cousins and my brothers hanging out of the windows and waving, their faces alight with excitement, and I waved back along with my parents as the train gained speed and then pulled out of the station. I barely heard my parents talking over my head as we headed back to the barrier, still thinking about _that_ boy. My face grew red with fury and embarrassment just thinking about him, and I hoped with every fiber in my nine-year old body that I would never see him again.

Little did I know.


	2. The Hogwarts Express

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

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This was it; the day had finally come. I was going to Hogwarts! After _eons_ of waiting I would be the one who would go on that scarlet train! I squealed and performed a happy dance all around my room, and nearly tripped over my large trunk, which was packed and ready. My new owl, Artemis, hooted at me as I grabbed her cage to steady myself.

Too excited to sit still, I rushed over to my mirror and ran a comb through my flaming red hair, and then looked over the clothes I had laid out for my first train ride to Hogwarts. Of course, I would be changing into my new black robes on the train, but that fact didn't stop me from picking out my favorite shirt and pants.

Blue jeans? Check.

Yellow t-shirt saying "The Weird Sisters"? Check.

My favorite belt that changed colors according to my mood? Check.

I sighed with relief and glanced at the clock, wishing it would hurry up. How could it only be 10:00?! I could swear at least an hour had passed! I threw myself down on my rumpled bed, staring up at the white ceiling. Maybe I could wake my parents up, or better yet, wake my brothers up. I felt a smile tug my lips at this idea. Well, I wouldn't wake Al up. He hadn't teased me yesterday about which house I would sorted into while James had spent the entire evening pointing out that the way I acted had me destined for Hufflepuff, no question about it. Hufflepuff wasn't a bad house, but all the same, I would prefer to be in Gryffindor.

Well now, I had an advantage, no _several_ advantages, over James. I was awake and he wasn't, I had nicked Uncle George's Pimple Pills, and he hadn't, and I knew he was trying to impress some girl he had met last year. I had seen them on the platform at the end of last term, making gooey faces at each other. Or at least, he was. Her face looked more like she was trying not to throw up.

Snickering at the memory, I threw on my clothes, ran my comb through my hair again, which had somehow gotten messy, and once more looked at the clock. 10:15. Artemis looked on interestedly as I pulled out a pink-and-green pill from my jeans pocket, and my new wand from the other. Al had taught me a basic spell (_Expelliarmus_) that he had insisted was important to learn, and now I could see how it would come in handy. James locked his door, but now I could get past it. I stopped on my way out of my room with my hand on my door handle. Maybe I shouldn't do this. After all, did I really want to waste this morning on my annoying older brother? And it was nearly time for breakfast. There wouldn't be enough time to give James pimples and save myself from certain disaster once he retaliated. No, I decided, I would save the pill for later. I look fondly at the pill as I pocketed it.

I glanced once more at the clock, which seemed to be going slow on purpose. It was only 10:25! I fidgeted, tapped my foot, fingered my wand, and chewed my nails. I couldn't sit still on this important life-deciding day! Today I would meet people who might be my life long friends, like Dad, Uncle Ron, and Aunt Hermione had met each other, or life long enemies.

I burst through the door of my parents' room expecting to see them at least ready to go downstairs and make breakfast, but they were still fast asleep. Dad was even snoring. I rolled my eyes and cupped my hands around my mouth.

"Mum! Dad!" I shouted, breaking the peaceful silence. My parents jerked awake, my dad's wand already in his hand and pointed at me as he fumbled for his glasses and my mum leaped out of bed. Wow, I didn't expect that reaction.

"Lily! Don't shout like that!" Mum admonished, once she had gotten a good look at the disturber of peace and realized that it was me, her very annoyed eleven-year-old daughter. Dad lowered his wand and yawned.

"What time is it?"

I rolled my eyes again. I was doing that a lot lately. "Time to get up," I said pointedly.

"Merlin, I forgot! Today's your first day at Hogwarts, sweetie!" Mum exclaimed, catching me before I could move away and planting a wet kiss on my cheek.

"Ugh," I complained, squirming away, as Mum headed downstairs. Don't get me wrong, I like to know my parents still love me, but I wish they wouldn't show it in wet, sloppy kisses, especially in public. Then, more often then not, we make the front page. I could see the headlines already if they did that in King's Cross.

LILY POTTER GOES OFF TO HOGWARTS

_Harry Potter, War Hero and The Boy Who Lived Twice and Ginny Potter, ex-Holyhead Harpies player, hug and kiss their youngest goodbye as she boards the scarlet train. Full story, page A3._

Yeah, right. I wasn't going to let those headlines happen if I could help it. I wanted to be safely anonymous on the train.

I could hear Mum sniffing as she went downstairs. " My little Lily, all grown up, going to Hogwarts.." her voice faded away. I rolled my eyes again and saw my dad looking at me, amused.

"What?" I demanded.

"Little Lily, all grown up-" he began, smiling. I made a noise of frustration and ran back into my room to drag my trunk downstairs. Honestly, I wish people would stop acting like I'm seven, or something. I just turned eleven, and in two years I would be a teenager! Swallowing my annoyance (I didn't want to ruin my morning sulking), I double-checked everything in my trunk and was about to heave it downstairs when I remembered I had forgotten my favorite blue socks.

I went on a frantic hunt for them, looking under my bed, behind my bookshelves and inside my closet as I heard Al and James noisily going downstairs for breakfast. Artemis hooted as I almost overturned her cage, but she didn't seem that annoyed. Actually, she seemed amused. Well, I'm glad I can be a joke to somebody, even if that somebody is an owl.

After almost ten minutes, I emerged from under my desk with my prized socks clutched tightly in my hand. I pulled them on and struggled downstairs with my trunk. By the time I got downstairs, everyone had finished breakfast, and I hastily stuffed my toast into my mouth.

"Your hair is white, Lily," James observed, tilting his chair back, as he often did. "Are you getting old?" I put my hand up to feel my head, silently cursing James and hoping his chair would fall over, for once.

"Don't worry, dear. Its just dust," Mum said soothingly, vanishing the dust with a flick of her wand. "But how did you get dust on your head?"

"I was looking for my blue socks," I mumbled through a mouthful of bread. James snickered.

"Ickle Lilykins was looking for her _favorite blue socks_," he said in a singsong voice as Dad carried all our trunks to the car. Mum gave James a look and he shut up. Good. Maybe he'll stay quiet all through the car ride, but that would be too good to be true. Most likely he'll start talking about how perfect I am for Hufflepuff.

Five minutes later, we were speeding down the highway towards King's Cross. Al was reading his new Charms textbook, and James had started talking about Hufflepuff again. I knew I shouldn't believe him, since he had tormented Al two years ago about Slytherin, but Al had gotten into Gryffindor, after all.

"You know, Lily, Hufflepuffs are very loyal," he was saying. "Like how you were so loyal to your stuffed dragon you left in the Leaky Cauldron one time that you threw a tantrum to make Dad bring it back."

I repressed a groan. Did James have to remind me of things I did when I was still in the single digits? Especially when I was going away to Hogwarts? I fingered the pill in my pocket. Maybe, just maybe, I could throw it in his mouth as he was laughing at me…

All too soon, we were at the station. My stomach was full of butterflies, and my palms were sweaty as I prepared to push my trolley through the barrier. James and Al had already gone through and Mum and Dad were waiting for me. I took a deep breath and ran toward the brick wall I had entered so many times, but this was the first time I was doing it as a student at Hogwarts.

And then, I was on the platform. I looked around and listened to the sounds I had never really appreciated before. Students shouting their news and greeting each other. Owls hooting, toads croaking, cranky cats meowing their displeasure as their owners bundled them on the train. Parents saying goodbye to their children, and calling reminders to those who had already boarded. I smiled. Now I was a part of all of it. White mist floated on the platform as the train whistled, and suddenly Al appeared by my side.

"Lily, what are you doing? Mum and Dad are over _here_." He dragged me some distance away where Mum, Dad, James, Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione and my cousins were standing. I blushed and Uncle Ron chuckled.

"Excited for Hogwarts, Lily?" he asked, grinning.

"She spent the whole summer talking about it," James said, rolling his eyes.

The adults laughed, and then the train whistled again. As Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione said goodbye to Hugo and Rose, Mum and Dad hugged and kissed James and Al, and warned James about getting too many detentions. Then they turned to me. I closed my eyes. Wait for it…

I felt myself drawn into a crushing hug by Mum, and then she planted yet another wet kiss on my cheek. Dad reached down to hug me too, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the bright white flash of a camera. I fiercely hugged them back, trying not to cry. Who cared about that camera, anyway? I wasn't going to see my parents for months.

I leaped on the train just before it started to move, and waved to my family with my brothers and cousins beside me. As soon as the train pulled out of the station, James hurried away, calling after some friends he had just seen. Al and Rose left soon after, to join their own friends, and Hugo and I were left alone in the corridor.

"Let's get a compartment," Hugo suggested.

"Yeah," I agreed. There were many heads poking out of compartment doors, and while I had allowed that camera, I wasn't too keen on more attention for today. We dragged our trunks down the corridor, peeking in compartment doors, but they were all full. Finally, we came to the last compartment, and I paused to rest my sore arms.

"Well." Hugo panted, dropping his trunk on the floor. "This is the last one. We have to go in here."

I nodded, and pushed the door open. There were already people sitting in the compartment, and I was about to back out, but Hugo shoved me in. Sighing, I scanned the people sitting in there, all of whom had stopped talking upon our entrance. They all looked small, so they seemed to be first years like Hugo and I. At least they weren't older students. _That_ would have been awkward. My gaze landed on the last person in the compartment who was sitting next to the window, and I felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu.

Steely gray eyes stared back at me.

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A/N As always, reviews are greatly appreciated!


	3. Who is he?

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Harry Potter. Only the ones I make up.

A/N Sorry, it's been a while since I've updated. My excuse: I was busy with my other story: The Sands of Time. Please check it out on my profile!

Thanks to snowvet, Jokegirl, MilkShakeMoo, SweetieCherrie, and OwlinAMinor.

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_My gaze landed on the last person in the compartment who was sitting next to the window, and I felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu._

_Steely gray eyes stared back at me._

--

I stared back, narrowing my almond shaped brown eyes until they were slits. From what I remembered about this kid, it was best _not _to lose a staring contest. Well, I also knew that from experience with my rowdy older cousins and brother. From behind me, Hugo coughed and nudged me, trying to tell me to stop blocking the entrance to the compartment. He nudged me a little too hard, though, and I stumbled, flailing my arms desperately, but fell face first on the floor anyway. Thanks, Hugo. This is just what I need; looking like a klutz in an compartment full of people of people I don't know, including that annoying kid in the corner who was probably smirking by now.

"Uh, Lily? Are you alright?" Hugo's voice said nervously above my head. I groaned, my nose buried in the dusty carpet, feeling like I never wanted to get up again. There was a funny clicking noise over and over again, but I decided it was because I had hit the ground rather hard and my head hurt. On the other hand, from this angle, I could see that there was a stash of Chocolate Frogs under the seats. Before I could reach out to at least take the Cards from them, someone giggled above my head, and then the whole compartment was laughing. I sighed, then stood up and brushed myself off, noticing that my belt was pitch black. Well on the bright side, no one here is a reporter. No one else can see my clumsiness. Hugo had already put our trunks on the racks above the seats and sat down in an empty seat next to a girl with curly blonde hair. I guessed she was the one who had giggled at me. I gingerly sat down in the seat next to Hugo, my eyes ranging over the people in the compartment. As they were spending their time laughing at me, I could look at them right?

The gray eyed boy was not laughing or even snickering. He was calmly staring out the window, looking at the peaceful countryside that was flashing past. His dark hair was slicked back and his black robes were spotless. Not a speck of dust on them, and they were perfectly pressed and fitted. My eyebrows rose as I glanced at his feet, which were clad in shoes so shiny, I could probably see my reflection in them. I felt a nudge from my left from another girl with wavy brown hair. I eyed it enviously, wishing I could have hair like that. Inconspicuous-

"Hey," she whispered confidentially. "There's no point looking at him." She pointed at the gray eyed boy. "He's a _snob_, even if he is good looking." I glared at her, offended. I was _not_ interested in him, like _that_. Eww.

"Anyway," she continued, seemingly not noticing my glare, "My name is Amy Dallas."

"I'm Stacy Montgomery," another girl with long straight dirty blonde hair said from the seats across from us. Suddenly, I realized that everyone else had stopped laughing some time ago and the compartment was very quiet. In the silence, Stacy smiled at me, her blue eyes dancing in mirth. I smiled back, feeling more comfortable with these people. Suddenly the fact that I had fallen flat on my face in front of strangers was a lot more amusing, and I began laughing hard, until tears sprang to my eyes. The whole compartment, including Hugo, stared at me until I finished my laughing fit several minutes later. The only one who didn't look was that boy, who continued to gaze out the window as though it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

"Uh, Lily?" Hugo said tentatively. He probably thought I was going crazy. I patted his shoulder as I wiped my eyes.

"Sorry," I said, gasping for breath. "But the whole falling-on-my-face thing was really funny-"

"Well at least you can laugh at yourself," a boy with sandy hair said from next to Stacy. He smiled at me too, his hazel eyes crinkling at the corners. "I'm Andrew Finnegan."

The blonde girl next to Hugo introduced herself next. "Amanda Brown," she said coolly, casually running her fingers through her hair as she disdainfully eyed my red locks, which had gotten messier during my fall. I wished I knew a spell to make her silky hair tangle as she was running her fingers through it, but squashed the thought. That was something James or Fred would do, and I was not like them. I looked over at the tiny mousy haired boy sitting next to Andrew, waiting for him to introduce himself. He was fiddling with a camera that hung around his neck, but then he glanced up and turned bright red when he realized everyone was looking at him. I was impressed. Few people could turn that shade of red.

"Ryan Creevey," he said, raising his camera hesitantly.

"Could I take a picture of you?" He asked me suddenly. "I-I couldn't get a good one when you were falling."

I felt my face and ears burn. So that clicking noise had not been my imagination after all.

"Why would he want to get a picture of _you_?" Amanda asked me, one of her perfectly arched eyebrows raised.

This was it. Time to say my name and attract the awe of everyone in sight. Merlin, I wished I were a Muggleborn, sometimes.

"I'm Lily Potter," I said, sitting back in my seat. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Amanda's jaw drop, and there was a collective gasp from Stacy and Andrew. Amy just looked confused, so I assumed she was Muggleborn. Lucky her.

"Lily Potter?" Amanda gasped, sitting up straight. "It's so nice to meet you! Did I say how pretty your eyes are?"

I rolled my pretty eyes, seeing through her fake act. Before I could tell her that no, she had not mentioned how my eyes looked, little Ryan Creevey clicked his camera again. Not to be outdone with all the attention, Hugo spoke up.

"I'm Hugo Weasley," he said proudly, puffing out his chest. I noticed him looking at Amanda, and felt annoyed. I hoped he didn't fancy her already. I didn't think I could stand someone like her.

"Weasley?" Stacy said excitedly. "Whose son are you?"

"My dad is Ron Weasley," Hugo said, smiling as Ryan snapped a picture of him. Amanda said "Wow" softly and flashed a bright smile at Hugo, who promptly turned scarlet.

"What's going on?" Amy asked, still looking confused. Stacy and Andrew began filling her in, telling her the story of the famous Trio and their adventures many years ago. While they talked, I sat back in my seat and tried to ignore the avid expression of Ryan, who seemed to be deciding whether to take another picture or not. Hugo was stealing sidelong glances at Amanda who was once again trailing her fingers through her curls. I thought this wasn't too bad after all. Most people here seemed all right, James, Fred and everyone else were leaving me alone, and Hugo and I were well on our way to Hogwarts. Everything was fine, right now, except for that boy.

He was still staring out the window, which seemed to be quite interesting. I could only see his profile, which was, as Amy had said, not bad at all. I mentally slapped myself. What was I thinking? I hated him. He was a snob, probably. I mean, which eleven year old shines their shoes like that? I wished I knew his name, but everyone else had been distracted from introductions, and seemed to have forgotten about him. Or maybe, they already knew his name since they had been in the compartment before Hugo and I came in. I was burning with curiosity, but didn't want to ask him myself and attract his gray glare again. He was fine looking at the windows. My eyes wandered up to the trunk racks, and I was struck with an idea. I was on the short side, much to my chagrin, but if I stood up, I might be able to see into the racks and hopefully pick out his trunk. And the trunk should have his name on it. Feeling clever, I stood up on the pretext of adjusting my belt, and peered into the racks.

_Stacy Lucille Montgomery_….No.

_Andrew Seamus Finnegan_….No again. Where was that trunk? I began fixing my hair and glared at Amanda, who was raising an eyebrow at me again. At least she didn't say anything. Hugo would have, but he was too busy gaping at Amanda. For the first time today, I was thankful that she existed. Maybe I should just ask the boy….and be skewered with a glare again? No, I couldn't. I went back to scanning the trunks. There it was!

_Leo Caelum M-_

"Lily?" Amy, Stacy, and Andrew were looking up at me. "Why are you standing up? We aren't there yet, are we?"

"No," I said quickly, sitting down. "I was just stretching." Amanda snorted, but I ignored her, fighting the impulse to tell her that snorting wasn't something that attracted boys.

I fidgeted as Amy and Stacy chatted about houses at Hogwarts. Andrew was reading _Which Broomstick _and Hugo seemed to be in an Amanda-dream world, leaving me to my thoughts.

I was so close to knowing his name! Well I knew his first name was Leo, but what was his last name? I could ask him directly. Or I could wait until the Sorting. No, I was too curious. I would just ask him directly. I was going to be a Gryffindor, wasn't I? What was I afraid of?

"Hey," I said loudly. Everyone looked at me. "What?" Stacy asked, confused.

"No, I'm talking to the kid in the corner," I said. Finally, he turned around, and I got a proper look at him. I wanted to ask him whether his neck was sore from all that determined staring out the window, but then I noticed he was smirking. Uh oh.

"What's your name?" I asked, going ahead with my plan anyway. Whatever I was expecting, it certainly wasn't what he said next.

"Haven't you figured that out from my trunk yet?" he asked, still smirking.

Oh Merlin.

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A/N What do you think his name is?


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